EU state aid law : emerging trends at the national and EU level

Abstract

The Florence Competition Programme (FCP) of the European University Institute (EUI) recently organised two workshops in Brussels with Bird & Bird LLP and Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners LLP. The first event, entitled ‘EU State aid policy: the forecast for the next five years’, was held on 28th November, 2019. It included two panels followed by a keynote speech, which was delivered by Nicola Pesaresi, Head of State Aid Unit I, Energy and Environment, at DG Competition of the European Commission. The second event, entitled ‘The Role of National Courts in State Aid enforcement’, took place on 23rd January, 2020. It was comprised of an introductory session and a roundtable of discussion. During both events, the FCP team presented the recent study on the role of national courts in State aid enforcement. The study, published by DG Competition in July, 2019, was carried out by a consortium, including Spark Legal Network, the Florence Competition Programme, Ecorys and Caselex. In addition, the volume “EU State Aid Law - Emerging Trends at the National and EU Level” was presented during the second workshop in Brussels. The book, edited by Prof. Parcu, Prof. Monti and Dr. Botta, was published by Edward Elgar Publishing in February, 2020. In view of the similarities of the topics, the present Policy Brief summarises the main points that were debated upon during the two workshops, and it seeks to stimulate further debate.